Taiwan's central weather agency issued a sea warning on Wednesday, 21 October, for vessels east and north of the island.
Strong winds and heavy rain are expected over Taiwan and southern Japan on Friday, 23 October, and Saturday, 24 October.
Zhejiang and Fujian issued warnings, and more than 1,000 fishing boats were moored at Ruoshan port in Shitang, according to Notícias ao Minuto.
Forecast models split between a path toward Taiwan and China and a northeast turn toward Japan, with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expecting further weakening.
Champi formed as a tropical storm on Thursday, 15 October, and needed less than two days to reach Category 4 hurricane strength. On Saturday, 17 October, it came within about 10 miles of Guam according to the New York Times, while Il Messaggero says it passed roughly 20 kilometres south of the island and caused the first damage to its infrastructure. The Washington Post dates the close pass to Sunday and puts the miss at about 20 miles. On Wednesday, 21 October, the National Weather Service said sustained winds had reached nearly 185 miles per hour, the highest of any storm this year. Italian and Portuguese reports convert that to between 296 and 298 km/h, depending on the outlet.
Taiwan's central weather agency issued a sea warning on Wednesday, 21 October, for vessels east and north of the island. Taiwanese reports said sustained winds on Thursday, 22 October, reached 184 km/h, with gusts up to 227 km/h. At 8:00 local time that day, the storm sat about 560 kilometres east-southeast of Eluanbi, the southernmost point of the island. Airlines have already cancelled flights to Okinawa, and Der Tagesspiegel notes that Taiwan has more than 23 million residents. Forecasters expect the storm to weaken as it nears land, but strong winds and intense rain should hit Taiwan and southern Japan on Friday, 23 October, and Saturday, 24 October. Northeastern Taiwan may see heavy rain from late Thursday evening local time.
Zhejiang and Fujian issued warnings, and Chinese state media reported that fishing boats were called back to port. Notícias ao Minuto published images showing more than 1,000 fishing boats moored at Ruoshan fishing port in the Chinese city of Shitang. Zhejiang authorities said some ferry links had been cancelled and coastal construction halted. Il Messaggero, citing Chinese media, reports that Zhejiang began emergency procedures to move vulnerable residents, including the elderly, the sick, people with disabilities and pregnant women, out of the areas most likely to be hit. The VariFlight platform lists seven airports that could be hit hardest, including Shanghai Pudong and Shanghai Hongqiao, though no delays or cancellations had been announced yet.
Forecasts point to Champi turning north to graze southeastern China on Saturday, 24 October, before curving east over the East China Sea. Der Tagesspiegel reports that a weakened storm, possibly at tropical-storm strength, could then brush southern South Korea on its way toward Japan. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects the storm to move northwest over cooler waters and weaken further in the coming days. Some forecast models still send it toward Taiwan and China, while others point to a northeast turn toward Japan. One outlook puts a more direct hit near Taketomi Island in Okinawa Prefecture at roughly Category 4 equivalent, and mainland Japan could feel tropical-storm effects this weekend.
Champi reached Category 5 equivalent for a third time after weakening briefly, following a first peak about six hours after it passed Guam on 17 October, with winds of around 165 mph. Its nearly 185 mph sustained winds exceed the roughly 180 mph of Hurricane Polo off Mexico in September, but stay below the 215 mph set by Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Polo recorded a lower minimum central pressure, 892 millibars against Champi's 895 millibars, and a lower pressure generally indicates a stronger storm. Notícias ao Minuto counts Champi as the fourth Category 5 equivalent storm in the western Pacific this season and the seventh worldwide this year. Champi began weakening on Wednesday, 21 October, with winds just over 170 mph according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
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Taiwan issued a sea warning as Champi, now the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, moved toward the island. Forecast models still disagree on whether the storm turns toward Taiwan and China or curves northeast toward Japan.
AI text based on reports by Rai news, Der Tagesspiegel, Notícias ao Minuto and other publishers. Published .